Take your mentor out for a long lunch

One of the saddest business trends of recent years has been the death of the long lunch. I could never understand this trend – who would have thought that drinking five bottles of wine and then returning to work would be a bad idea?

So today, we are going to bring that tradition back. Not the drinking lots and acting inappropriately at work tradition, but the long lunch tradition.

Call up your mentor, book a restaurant, pick a quiet table and get set to pour your heart out about all the little things in your business.

That problem customer, the difficult staff member, the product idea you can’t quite nail, your worries about the changing industry.

Don’t just mention a topic and then move onto the next thing. Actually spend some time thrashing the issues and problems out, and try to come to a resolution. Don’t stop ordering coffees until you can leave that restaurant feeling better about the thing that’s been bugging you for weeks.

I promise, you will feel much better at the end of it.

Oh, and if you do have a few wines, don’t bother heading back to the office. Head home, put your feet up and jot down the resolution to the problem so you can discuss it tomorrow. Then go to sleep!

Get it done – today!